The Smiley Smile Message Board

After reading the blueboard today, I wondered what was the true story behind "The Wall" ? The BBs were supposed to be on it, right? So why didn't that happen ? I heard that thing about Mike not wnting to (and I don't know if it's true), but what about the others?

I just heard the lyrics freaked 'em out.  Probably not just Mike, but Al too, I would imagine, and maybe Brian and Carl, even.   "The worms ate into his brain", or whatever they are.  Understandable.  Great, powerful music, but kinda depressing. 

"Roger Waters had envisaged Beach Boys-like 'saccharine' vocal harmonies, in the track 'The Show Must Go On', in particular. Roger said in the 1980 Jim Ladd interview that the Beach Boys were asked to do it and they agreed to it, "and then they went off and toured Japan or something instead." Roger: "I think they were quite into doing it. Mind you, they hadn't all seen all the stuff about the 'racialist' stuff that comes in some of the songs we asked them to sing. I don't know how they would have responded to that. Because Bruce Johnston actually came down and did some." Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys called Roger and told him "I'm not sure that The Beach Boys wanna sing "That one's Jewish, that one's a coon, that one's a queer and all of that but I'll put together a team that will get the vibe" (quote from In The Studio for The Wall, interview with Roger Waters, July 1989). The studio recording did, indeed, include Bruce Johnston, who - although not a founding member - was, technically, a member of The Beach Boys."

I had heard the excuse about the Boys having to leave on tour and not being able to do it, but that never made sense since Bruce was touring with them by then (in fact, he was definitely on the August '79 Japan tour).  The other stuff makes sense.

I distinctly remember hearing right when the album came out that "the Beach Boys sang on one track"...at some point I read the liners and  determined that it was just Bruce.  But it got a little attention at the time. 

Sorry to hear that Waters thinks of the Beach Boys' vocal sound  as "saccharine".

The session was scheduled - 10/2/79 - from noon to 5pm, but cancelled that morning.

The vocals were eventually added 10/16.

That's all right; there are many people who think the Floyd are "pretentious".

Compared to Floyd's sound, they are.  Doesn't mean it's any worse, I don't think it was mean't as a put down.  Why else would they want BB vocals on The Wall, unless they appreciated the sound?

Wow, that's cutting it a little close given that the album was released on Nov. 30th, 1979. These days it seems an album will be finished and in the can a good 6 to 8 months before it gets released.